Shen Wei’s Naked Dancers Glide Through Met Gallery: Interview

They fit right in. There are, after all, a lot of nude
statues in the Met. Later, two dancers stripped down entirely
while others sported very odd outfits with airy bottoms.

“My work is a celebration of the human body,” said Shen
Wei. “Why cover such beauty?”

After choreographing the opening of the Beijing Olympic
Games, Shen Wei has been exploring various non-traditional
spaces for dance. The new pieces were commissioned by the Met
and will be performed again tonight.

We spoke in a conference room at the Park Avenue Armory,
where Shen Wei is currently artist-in-residence.

Lundborg: Why did you choose the sculpture gallery?

Shen Wei: I first picked the Temple of Dendur, but as I was
leaving I saw the American Wing with those gorgeous statues, the
natural light streaming in, so I changed my mind.

Lundborg: Does choreography add the element of time to
sculpture?

Shen Wei: The evening is called “Still Moving,” and it’s
about time, space, and energy. The first part is classical,
slow-motion and dream-like, as we focus on the beauty of the
human form. That’s the past.

In the second half, I use electronic music to explore this
moment in our digital time, and how we feel human connections in
our bodies right now.

Body Language

Lundborg: Your dancers keep their faces expressionless. Is
that a part of your philosophy?

Shen Wei: Dancers should show expression through their body
movement. They’re not actors.

Facial expression always comes from your emotion, your
reaction to what’s happening. But dance is a body form and uses
movement as a much more subtle and abstract language.

Lundborg: What makes a Shen Wei dancer?

Shen Wei: They have to develop their minds as much as their
bodies. I don’t use dancers to copy some movement -- human
beings are not just puppets. A dancer has to have a really open
mind, and be willing to take a risk.

Number one, though, is honesty. If you’re not truthful, you
can’t even think about being an artist. If you want to inspire
people, you can’t be a fake.

Feeling Chi

Lundborg: Tell me about your technique.

Shen Wei: I train people to be more sensitive about their
internal organs. You can really feel your energy, your chi, your
gravity. Then your movement comes from something inside, and
you’re not just copying forms.

Lundborg: You’re in residence at the Park Avenue Armory.
Doing just what?

Shen Wei: It’s the biggest thing I’ve done since the
Olympics -- a huge production for the Drill Hall with maybe 50
dancers and other artists to debut in the fall.

(Zinta Lundborg is an editor for Muse, the arts and leisure
section of Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are her own.
This interview was adapted from a longer conversation.)